ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregiver Convicted Of Beating Patient Later Found Dead
Camera Reportedly Catches Caregiver Striking Patient
Faces Possible Nine-Year Prison Sentence
Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents victims of physical and financial elder and dependent adult abuse. Seniors and dependent adults living at home under the care of in-home caregivers and seniors and dependent adults living in facilities are both at risk of abuse. Intentional physical abuse may be particularly gruesome as a recent conviction, discussed below, illustrates. Physical elder abuse is a crime and also grounds for civil liability for elder or dependent adult abuse. Penal Code § 368 and Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.63 (definition of elder and dependent adult physical abuse). Under California law, physical abuse of an elder or dependent adult means any of the following:
(a) Assault, as defined in Section 240 of the Penal Code.
(b) Battery, as defined in Section 242 of the Penal Code.
(c) Assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury, as defined in Section 245 of the Penal Code.
(d) Unreasonable physical constraint, or prolonged or continual deprivation of food or water.
(e) Sexual assault, that means any of the following:
(1) Sexual battery, as defined in Section 243.4 of the Penal Code.
(2) Rape, as defined in Section 261 of the Penal Code.
(3) Rape in concert, as described in Section 264.1 of the Penal Code.
(4) Spousal rape, as defined in Section 262 of the Penal Code.
(5) Incest, as defined in Section 285 of the Penal Code.
(6) Sodomy, as defined in Section 286 of the Penal Code.
(7) Oral copulation, as defined in Section 287 or former Section 288a of the Penal Code.
(8) Sexual penetration, as defined in Section 289 of the Penal Code.
(9) Lewd or lascivious acts as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 288 of the Penal Code.
(f) Use of a physical or chemical restraint or psychotropic medication under any of the following conditions:
(1) For punishment.
(2) For a period beyond that for which the medication was ordered pursuant to the instructions of a physician and surgeon licensed in the State of California, who is providing medical care to the elder or dependent adult at the time the instructions are given.
(3) For any purpose not authorized by the physician and surgeon.
Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.63.
If you are a loved one has been the victim of elder or dependent adult abuse in Burlingame or elsewhere in San Mateo County or anywhere in California, call us at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Conviction For Physical Elder Abuse[1]
In a recently reported case, a former elder caregiver faces nine years and eight months in prison after she was caught on camera hitting and yelling at a 66-year-old patient. District Attorney’s officials say the caregiver worked at a residential care home between 2018 and 2020. She was responsible for feeding, changing and putting one elderly resident to bed. When the resident was found not breathing in her bed, the facility owner called 911. The patient was dead. An autopsy later revealed the patient had injuries consistent with ‘compressive force’ on both sides of her neck, as well as other injuries to her head and back. According to reports, Sheriff’s detectives then reviewed surveillance footage at the care home and found that the caregiver had beat, mishandled and yelled at the patient multiple times before her death. She was convicted of elder abuse, elder abuse causing death, and involuntary manslaughter. Her sentence is upcoming where she faces up to over nine years in prison.
Evans Law Firm Represents Victims And Their Families
If you have any suspicions whatsoever that your loved one is suffering any kind of abuse, call us. Always act on your instincts. We will pursue any individual responsibility for the abuse as well as their supervising employers, agencies, and owners of the facility in which your loved one resides. Relief includes damages for pain and suffering, punitive damages where available and an award of the attorneys’ fees and expenses you’ve incurred in bringing your case.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans can be reached at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. is not involved in the case in any way.
